Cowgirls On The Run: About me

Dick Dunsmore

Just a little background about where I come from. This is a picture of my father, Dick Dunsmore. He rode Bareback horses back in the day. You just don’t pick rodeo, it seems rodeo picks you. It is not for everyone, it is a passion deep down in your soul. I don’t recall it ever being easy, but maybe it is the rodeo family you become a part of, or the adventure, or the freedom of running down the road traveling the country trying to ride that next 8 seconds or make that perfect run. Usually making just enough money to keep you going. My sister and Sister-in-law runs barrels, both my brothers ride bulls.

Billy Turner

and Of course, I would end up marrying a Saddle Bronc Rider.

Billy Turner

My barrel horses and the stock contractor’s broncs and bulls are very much respected athletes.

It seems rodeo picks them as well and they seem passionate about their job too. It is not for every horse or bull.

Christy Turner

Billy and I would travel to 75-125 rodeos every year over the next 13 years until a big surprise God gave to us.

Calista and Cassity Turner

Our twin baby girls were born in 2006.

Cassity and Calista Turner

We slowed down on our rodeos but it didn’t stop us.

At Mesquite Rodeo, the Turners being interviewed.

Everywhere we went so did the Turner Twins.

Billy, Calista, & Cassity Turner

The girls have always traveled really good, but I did learn the double stroller only worked for indoor arenas.

Billy, Cassity, and Calista Turner

We had to upgrade to the big tires and four-wheel drive wagon.

Cassity and Calista Turner

I could get that wagon through any fairgrounds.

Cassity, Calista, and Billy Turner being interviewed at Mesquite Rodeo.

Of course, the Turner Twins had no choice but to be bitten with the love of horses and rodeo too.

Calista and Cassity Turner

They are horse crazy and are excited for High School Rodeos to start up.

Christy Turner

Rodeo has been our life and our passion but so is hunting and being in the outdoors. Billy took me deer hunting in 1994 and a new passion ignited. I keep learning and growing and my passion gets stronger and stronger.

Cassity and Calista Turner

If Callie and Cassie are not on a back of a horse they are in the deer stand with me. The girls have been hunting with me since they were babies in their car carriers.

Cassity Turner

We had bought a Gamo air rifle for the girls to learn how to look through a scope when they first started shooting at targets.

Calista Turner

We have practiced gun safety since they were babies and they have both completed their Texas Parks and Wildlife Hunters Education Course.

Billy and Cassity Turner

At five years old they got their first bow.

Cassity and Calista Turner

We are still practicing and haven’t let them hunt with a bow yet.

Henderson County Wildlife Committee Spring Rendezvous

I love being a part of the Henderson County Wildlife Committee. We are part of a program through the Texas Agrilife Extension Office. Our purpose is to educate and promote the importance of wildlife and habitat to adults and youth of our county. My favorite event that we host is the Spring Rendezvous. We hold this field trip in May to all of the fifth graders in Henderson County. Over the 2 day event we will have nearly 500 fifth graders rotate through our 6 stations. We have help with volunteers from the Texas Parks and Wildlife, Texas Game Wardens and the NRCS. We also have a fishing station, a BB Gun station and a bow and arrow station.

Christy Turner helping assist the 5th graders

I love to help with the bow and arrow station. You think living out here in the rural Henderson County most these kids have experienced a lot of these outdoor activities but in reality, they haven’t. 75% of the time the 5^th grader is scared to pull the bow back and they think they can’t do it. But when they push past their fears and pull the bow back and that arrow flies and hits the target, you can almost see their confidence rising while they are smiling from ear to ear and giving you a high five.

Wild Turkey near Cross Roads in Henderson County

I also love supporting the National Wildlife Turkey Federation. Since 2014 with the help of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department they have been releasing several wild turkeys trying to re-introduce them back in our area. They have trapped these wild turkeys in West Virgina and Iowa were the they are heavily populated and they are tagging them and adding gps devices before releasing them. They seem to be doing very well and thriving.

Cassity, Christy, and Calista Turner

Being a parent, mentor or role model to a child is the richest reward you could ever receive in this world. Money cannot buy this reward for you but it does cost your time. I know this can be hard this day and age when most families have both the mother and father working out of the home to make ends meet. Or single parents raising children trying to play both the father and mother role, it is hard to give extra time. My husband and I both have full time jobs and our children are involved in after school activities, music lessons and 4-H. It feels like we run and run every day and don’t have time to just enjoy our time with each other before we have to run off to our next activity or homework.

Calista and Cassity Turner

The outdoors and hunting season is very important to our family. This is our time as a family to enjoy hours of each other’s time and exploring what God has created in nature. I believe these last twelve years of taking my girls hunting, fishing and camping has taught them to respect nature.

Calista's first deer, 5 years old.

I feel it has taught them several life skills and have helped them build strong characters.

Cassity and Calista Turner 5 years old with Calista's first deer she harvested.

Callie and Cassie are not sitting inside playing the newest video games on the market, they are outside exploring Mother Nature and helping to put organic groceries on the table.

Calista Turner

They understand even with waking up at 5am in 30-degree weather and hiking through the woods and sitting patiently for hours, you might not even see a deer. But you will sit in silence just mother and daughter and watch the sun rise together. You may watch a beautiful red bird peck at the ground right in front of you. Have a swarm of butterflies fly all around you, or witness a squirrel get mad at you for sitting in their tree.

Cassity's first deer, 5 years old.

It is these little gifts God has given us that we miss sometimes in our very busy lives.

Calista Turner

I believe it is important especially for women to teach our youth about the outdoors.

Christy and Calista Turner

To let them realize it is not just a manley macho thing or bragging rights about trophy hunting.

Cassity and Calista Turner

But on how important it is to preserve our habitats and wildlife management.

My kids know where our dinner comes from.

Fresh organic meat at our family table that we worked hard for is much appreciated.

We process our own meat and Callie and Cassie always help. When it is a deer one of the girls had shot I write their name on the package. So when I cook that meal, I always say, “Thank you Callie or Cassie for this nutritious meal you worked hard for and provided for the family.” The smile on their face says it all and they usually have a happy plate after dinner.

I don’t believe it is ever too early or too late to start taking a kid out hunting, fishing, hiking, or exploring. It does the soul good and the bonding experience is worth more than gold.

Wild Turkey dinner

Duck Kabobs

Deer Steak

Deer Stew

Some people think hunting is just going out and shooting everything that walks in front of you. That is not the case with me or my family, and several other hunters that I know. We raise black Angus cows and I can almost compare our deer hunting to the same as our cow production.

We watch our herds year-round. We put out supplemental feeds and minerals for both. We plant fields to let them graze on and we cull the older ones to help the younger ones thrive.

Both in our Cow herd and our deer herd the only difference is we don’t fence in the deer they are wild and free to go anywhere. But if you keep their food available year-round they don’t travel to far away.

Christy Turner

I start deer hunting the first weekend in October and usually finish the deer season the first weekend in January. I put in a lot of time those three months. I might sit out in the woods from sun rise to sun set and not even see a deer.

Christy Turner

Then the next time I hunt I will have 20 bucks grazing in front of me. I usually only shoot 1 buck a year and I want to make sure he is an older mature buck so I am picky and let the others walk. But it is just as exciting to sit there and watch all the wildlife around you and they don’t even know you are there.

Christy Turner

I use to wear Billy’s hand me down camo clothing or I would shop the little boys section to try and find a better fit. It worked for a while but then 7 years ago I discovered an amazing company based out of Gunnison Colorado called Prois.

Cassity, Christy, and Calista Turner

I have been on their field staff position wearing and promoting their hunting apparel for women and girls ever since. Prois is designed with the serious female hunter in mind. Each piece is created to provide the highest level of function to help improve performance in the field.

Christy and Calista Turner

They select only the top rated performance fabrics to provide wind-stopping, wicking , waterproofing, silence and thermos-regulation.

Cassity Turner

The Prois Posse is a sisterhood throughout the country, reminding me of similarities of our rodeo family. We are all spread out and at anytime any of them will be there for you when you need them or just a place to stay as your traveling through.

Calista Turner

Soon after I joined the Prois staff I was contacted by Huntress Life Magazine asking if I could write a story about a hunt I had just recently been on.

Christy Turner

I am not a writer, but I had a lot of fun with this. For the next 3 years they would contact me every other month asking if I had a new story.

Turner Twins

Of course, I always had something to write about.

Christy Turner

During the slow times when it wasn’t hunting season I wrote about how to clean and care for your guns.

Christy Turner

About a fabulous bass fishing weekend and how to clean, prepare and then cook the fish.

I talked about attending ladies only hunts. I have attended several of these over the years and have had a blast at each one. The ladies hunts I have attended have been here in Texas, Mississippi, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas, Missouri and this latest fishing adventure up in Alaska.

Christy Turner

I wrote about working so hard and giving it all you got for the whole season of Turkey season and still coming home empty handed.

ChristyTurner

It is not about going out and shooting and killing, its about the things you learn on the way and getting to try again.

Christy Turner

I wrote about how many hours I spend deer hunting just to get busted by the change in the wind direction. I am very careful with my scent control. Before I hunt I shower and wash my hair in a no scent shampoo. I use the no scent soap. I wear the special no scent deodorant. I put my hunting clothes that have been washed in the special no scent detergent and dried with the special dryer sheet which has been safely stored in the plastic zip bag so no odors could get on them. I spray myself down with the no scent spray even on the bottom of my hunting boots and what happens. The wind will change directions and those deer are very smart.

Christy Turner

How to care for your trophy if you are wanting to take it to a taxidermist to preserve your memories for a lifetime.

Christy Turner

Tips and tricks about Shed hunting. We will spend the whole day walking and hiking a grid like pattern looking for deer sheds usually the best time is in March.

5 years ago I met Jon and Stacy Sissney hosts of His & Hers Outdoors tv show. We became good friends and they asked me to be a part of their team.

Cassity and Calista Turner

His and Hers Outdoors motto is Real Lives, Real Families, Real Hunting.

Nothing is staged or fake, we have had a lot of fun. It feels like we get to share our home movies of our adventures with millions of people nationwide.

Jon gave me a video camera and told me just to film everything we do. It has been a challenge when I self-film which happens a lot. I have missed a lot of opportunities because I could not get the camera on the deer or turkey or hog. Sometimes thing happen fast.

Billy and even the girls help film, we all take turns when we can. Thankfully His and Hers Outdoors have magical producers, who can turn my mess into a story.